You probably (I hope) noticed that all the songs start with with the letter "I," because, shockingly, that is the theme of the whole album. Even Stephin Merritt's lyrics focus more on first-person narrative stories than they did previously, in which the lyrics focused on gender reversal or narrator detachment. This shift created a slower, more emotional album. Although the slower tempos often matched the deep emotions, I found it would drag on too long and cause my mood to shift from chill to just plain bored.